Following detailed fertility investigation of the male tubal and ovarian factors, patient and her reproductive endocrinologist decide together on the optimal fertility treatment options.

Factors to consider in selecting the best fertility treatment options include:

Sperm source

Is there a male partner: if so what is the ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, motility and shape? if >10 million moving sperm then pregnancy through intercourse or IUI is possible. Lower numbers indicates IVF or ICSI. If azospermia (no sperm in the ejaculate) then surgical sperm retrieval may be needed (TESE) or donor sperm can be used.

Blocked and dilated fallopian tubes (Hydrosalpinx) require surgical removal of the dilated tubes followed by IVF. Dilated tubes are very difficult to fix and can leak fluid into the uterine cavity and prevent implantation of the embryo.

Ovarian Factor

Women who do not ovulate due to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): ovulation can be induced using oral medications (clomid or letrozole) or injection medications (gonadotropins). This is usually combined with IUI.

Women who do not ovulate due to defect in the master gland in the brain (Hypothalamic amenorrhea): ovulation can be induced using injection medications (gonadotropins). This is usually combined with IUI.

Women diminished ovarian reserve and unexplained (idiopathic) infertility commonly have lower quality eggs and may benefit from inducing multiple ovulation followed by IUI or IVF, to increase the chance that one of the eggs is healthy (chromosomally normal).

Donor Eggs

Donor eggs are needed in women with low egg reserve that fail multiple IVF cycles after menopause or those who carry some genetic abnormalities.

Donor eggs can enable same sex male couples parent a child (together with a gestational carrier).

Gestational carriers

Gestational carriers enable women to parent a child if the uterus is absent or was removed due to a disease e.g endometrial cancer or if the lining of the uterus is damaged e.g intrauterine scarring due to prior scrapping.

Gestational carrier enable women who cannot get pregnant to parent a child e.g history of breast cancer

Gestational carriers enable same sex male couples to parent a child.

Genetic analysis of the eggs or embryos (PGD)

Women and men with risk of conceiving a child with a specific genetic disorder e.g cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia should consider testing their embryos before transfer into the uterus (PGD)

PGD can also be used for selecting the sex of the baby for family balancing.

PGD can be used to test the chromosomes of the embryo to increase the chance for pregnancy in women select women but its efficacy for that purpose is still being investigated.

Fertility Preservation

Women at risk for diminished fertility due to a medical problem or treatment e.g breast cancer can freeze their eggs or embryos to use later

Men at risk for azospermia due to genetic factors, cancer and cancer treatment can freeze sperm for use later

Many other techniques for fertility preservation can also be applied to adults and children to preserve reproductive organs and tissue.

All parameters should be interpreted in conjunction with clinical information. If abnormal it can be repeated in 2 to 3 months.

How much sperm is enough?

Evaluation of male fertility through sperm analysis is complex. Clinical factors in history and examination should be considered. Total sperm count in the specimen is an important factor e.g low sperm morphology in specimen of 200 million sperm may have a different effect than low morphology in a specimen of 30 million sperm. Although there are notable variations in a sperm sample of the same man over time, there is no evidence that repeat evaluation of semen in helpful in managing infertility in a female partner.

Since we have very limited tools (medications, supplements, surgery) to meaningfully improve sperm parameters and fertility, a practical management of fertility due to male factor is:

Fertility in Men Diagnosed with Cancer

Who needs to consider preservation of Fertility?

a. The American Cancer Society estimates that 760,000 men will be diagnosed with cancer in 2009. Cancer itself (before treatment) is sometimes associated with less sperm production in men. This is specially the case in Hodgkin’s lymphoma, testicular cancer, prostate cancer, leukemias and colon cancer. The most harmful factor, however, is cancer treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation significantly impair sperm production. The effect of chemotherapy depends on age, drug used, dose and duration. Cyclophosphamide appears to be the most harmful agent. Radiation also impairs sperm production especially at doses of 1200cGy or more.

Sperm count sometimes recover to a variable extent years after cancer treatment. This depends on the type of cancer and treatment used. For example 90% of men diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, treated with MOPP chemotherapy regimen, do not have any sperm in the ejaculate after one year.

b. Bone marrow transplantation for cancer of nonmalignant diseases usually require prior irradiation and chemotherapy. This is associated with high risk (85%) of complete failure of sperm production.

Methods used to preserve fertility in men are generally divided into two categories:

Protection of the testes from damage caused by cancer treatment:

1. Shielding the testes from radiation field.

2. Protection of the testes from the effect of chemotherapy.

GnRH agonists are a group of medications that suppress the master gland in the brain, preventing the release of the hormones that stimulate sperm production in the testes. Although suggested, there is no proof that they actually increase the odds for pregnancy after the use of chemotherapy. Actually, there is no effective protective medication available for use in men or women.

Low Temperature Storage of Sperm and Testicular Tissue:

a. Sperm Cryopreservation. This is the standard method for preservation of fertility in men. A sperm sample is obtained by masturbation and frozen for later use. If feasible multiple samples are obtained. In the future, sperm sample are used for intrauterine insemination or IVF / intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Banking sperm was found to offer not only a chance to father children in the future but also encouragement and improved morale during disease treatment especially if it was initiated by the patient own initiative.

Lack of information and counseling is the most important reason why men diagnosed with cancer do not bank their sperm.

Although freezing may reduce the quality of sperm especially if it was not optimal before freezing, modern reproductive medicine can handle the majority of compromised specimens yielding excellent pregnancy rates, similar to those of fresh sperm.

b. Testicular Sperm Extraction (TESE). This surgical procedure retrieves sperm from inside the testes if no sperm was found in the ejaculate. If this procedure is used before cancer treatment, sperm are retrieved in over 50% of cases. Sperm or testicular biopsies are frozen for later use. ICSI is used for fertilization. In case of testicular cancer, sperm retrieval can be performed at the same time of surgery for cancer.

c. Testicular Tissue or Germ Cell Freezing. This is an experimental technique. Immature germ cells or testicular pieces are frozen for later transplantation. No pregnancy was achieved using this method so far.

In conclusion, fertility-sparing strategy is readily available to the majority of men at risk for diminished fertility through sperm cryopreservation. Men interested in fathering children in the future should be counseled about this option.

Dr. Amr Azim

Amr Azim, MD, FACOG is a reproductive endocrinologist and a fertility specialist with special training in treating simple and complex fertility problems. His areas of expertise are assisted reproduction and preservation of fertility